The joy of discovery is an intrinsic part of the lure of travelling, although, with the ever-increasing amount of travel blogs, Google reviews and online content, most areas of New Zealand have been pretty well documented.
Cat Macnaughton has always aimed to keep her sense of fun and adventure, and this attitude has resulted in a surprisingly successful business that has rocketed to popularity globally.
It all started when Cat, who had been living and working in Auckland with her two daughters (aged five and eight at the time) reconnected with childhood friend James (who was living in a farm cottage in the Hauraki Plains with his six-year-old daughter).
Although the pair had struck up an immediate friendship when they first met at a campground in the summer holidays in their early teens, it wasn’t until decades later that their worlds collided again: “in one messy and wonderful adventure”.
“I started writing about the journey of raising our blended family and sharing our adventures together on a blog, called Getting Lost,” says Cat.
“And before long, like-minded people were following us and asking how they too could find all the off-the-beaten-track places we came across – the waterholes, shipwrecks, parks and beaches.’
Such a consistent response from others looking to follow in their (literal) footsteps sparked the germ of an idea for Cat – and without further ado the early version of Getting Lost was underway.
Fast forward six years and Cat has sold more than 300,000 Getting Lost sets globally. The concept has proved a hit not just with Kiwis, but also with others further afield.
And there are now 36 variations of the travel game – from Camper, Adventurers, Girls Road Trip, Bush Walk, Campground and Cycling editions, with the range ever increasing.
“From the original idea for a game that would get us all away from the algorithms that know us so well and instead challenge us to adventure without a plan, the Getting Lost game has been such a thrill to see grow,” says Cat.
“It often sells out overnight and one game becomes more than 20 games for every type of adventure. There’s an endless array of variations to enjoy and the game is never the same no matter how many times you play it.”
“We started Getting Lost with an initial investment of just $3000, working nights and weekends. Finally in June I got the courage to leave my day job, and it’s exploded from there.
“I’ve always believed that brands should start with people first and be built backwards from that. And so, we started with a problem that people told us they had (how to get off their phones and find amazing places) and we designed back from there.”
Getting Lost has a thriving and engaged community of 100,000+ people and their input is integral to the evolution of the business.
And the icing on the cake is a recent epic win for Getting Lost at the prestigious 2degrees Auckland Business Awards, claiming a trifecta of the overall Supreme Excellence Awards as well as Excellence in Marketing, and Excellence in Strategy & Planning.
While the business has been growing, Cat and James have also continued shaping their own adventures, running away with their three children to elope in a campervan – and continuing to share their journey around creating fresh ideas for people to enjoy.
Designed, made and sent right from their neighbourhood, Getting Lost is a remarkable Kiwi success story.
While the family have enjoyed many wonderful times together Getting Lost, including compiling together their Cruise edition and experiencing their first cruise, as well as a girls’ road trip in 1960s Combi vans and exploring the ngahere with the Bush Walk edition, one of the absolute highlights for Cat was with daughter Kiki, “just as the sun was setting over Arkles Bay. The water was flat and tinged with pinks and purples and a pod of dolphins came through. It was magical”.
“I hope many other people have had memorable and unique moments with the gentle guiding hand of Getting Lost.”
Getting Lost: How it works
- Pick your preferred pack/theme
- Shuffle your cards
- Choose a card and follow the directions, as the game keeps unfolding
- Laugh, explore and make memories
“Some of the decisions are completely up to you – for example how long you follow a blue car for. It’s designed for completely random exploration but if you prefer you can impose time limits on how long you go in each direction depending on how much time you want to spend in the game – anywhere from an hour (as a general rule of thumb a 15-card pack takes about this time) to all day (with a 25-card pack) if you prefer.”
